Return To Genesis

Dream Team?

Firebird released Return To Genesis the same year I got my Atari ST, and it was developed by the "ST Dream Team": Steve Bak, Pete Lyons, and David Whittaker. Three masters in their fields, who aimed for quality and always pushed our computer without ever resorting to excuses or using a lame Amiga port. #respect

RTG is a spin on Defender, where Mechanauts have forced scientists into slavery. We've gotta rescue each of these guys, which means jumping into a spaceship to skim the surface of 50 psychedelic worlds.

Wanna see the first bunch of screenshots? Then wait no longer because here they are...

Weeeee..... swooooosh..... ZOOOOM......... dead!

Can you see the Mechanauts? Not easy, is it?

I'm getting too old and slow

If you've ever played Defender, then you should be right at home with RTG. It only has a tiny learning curve. Fire and kill everything? But it's worth slowing down to pick up the scientists rather than killing them: once onboard, hit the HELP key to see what power-ups they might provide. These guys are useful and could improve weaponry, shields, invisibility, etc. However, Festus might be less than fun as the master of self-destruction?

A scanner shows the location of each scientist, but this falls short of detailing the level layout. I don't know why, but this doesn't work well for me. Sigh... how many more times must I be rebounded back and forth like a yo-yo? Yes, you're on the edge of your seat for this incredibly FAST shooter. Blink, and you're dead!!

Screenshot time, and here are twelve scary-looking people from the future...

This is an incredible idea that uses who you rescue in a positive way for the next level. It's superb!

Aesthetics

Pete Lyon designed everything you see, but I'd be lying if I said this was his best work (I personally think Zynaps won that accolade). It's pretty gorky, so I often found it difficult to distinguish the aliens against those funky backgrounds. The scrolling is smooth to prove, once again, that the Atari ST needed no custom chips when in the hands of talented people who care about the product they're working on.

Audio is such a treat. Dave Whittaker sure knew how to get the best heard from our computer - proving that "chipmusic" will last forever. Yes, it sounds <cough> familiar, but it suits the gameplay. Heck, our ST talks to us, which is a zillion times better than Gold Runner. Dave certainly gets the YM processor rocking.

It looks, moves, and sounds superb! Definitely a dream team production, so let's see screenshots...

A weapons upgrade. I knew it was better to rescue these guys rather than blasting 'em!

Shall we rescue him or not? Erm, I shall.... try....!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Return to Genesis is one of those games that seems to have it all - brilliant visuals, smooth scrolling, immersive sound effects, and classic chip tunes. However, I’m left feeling unsure if it’s the game itself or just me. I love a good Defender-inspired shooter, but this one’s way too fast. After a few pointless games, I’m exhausted from hitting objects and dying repeatedly. Thankfully, the scientists have some great power-ups. These are a wonderful idea that somewhat alleviates the frustrating gameplay, albeit just a tiny bit.

This sure is an iconic shoot ‘em up for Atari ST gamers, truly representing the ST’s capabilities. Unfortunately, it’s far too fast for me, and I’d much rather play Zynaps or Menace. I wanted to love this game, but it just wasn’t for me. It’s brilliant, but sadly, not for this gamer. I guess I’m just too old and slow?

Grab it for floppy or hard drive.

Quadralien

Oh no, must I use my brain?

Quadralien is an action-enhanced puzzler released by Logotron, and once again, we find ourselves on board a spaceship about to go into a nasty radioactive meltdown. This time it's thanks to a pesky race of Quadraliens who must be stopped before everything goes boom. Next time, I think I'll stay at home.

I admit that Quadralien wasn't something I was looking forward to. I remember being completely bemused by this puzzler back in 1988, so I dreaded booting it up - and then having to write something interesting!! So, cautiously, I inserted the floppy disk into my Atari ST and braced for an embarrassing moment of gaming torture. I hoped my nightmares didn't return to haunt me... At my age, I need all the sleep I can get!!

Let's begin this feature with some nifty screenshots that probably make no sense...

Click the red square for detailed information on each of the six droids.

There's a lot of information and choices to make. Choose wisely!

Let's get to work...

Each level is viewed and played from above - Gauntlet-style, you might say. We control two droids that need to clean the Quadralien's mess (there are a total of six droids, but only two are usable at once). Each has its own individual characteristics: magnetic structure, the ability to carry waste, a battery, and weaponry.

Initially, I found that unnecessary because I felt blind in terms of planning ahead for an unknown level. However, I later found a fantastic series of videos by sushicalmagi who nicely explained each droid along with the basics of the gameplay. It's worth watching, especially if you have no instructions manual like me!

Okay, here are two more screenshots. Apologies to all those expecting Gauntlet...

So much radioactive stuff to zap or pick up... use those "I" terminals to see the services it offers.

The screens may look confusing and cluttered, but they really aren't.

Confused? You will be!

Six chambers make up a level, and their objective differs: in the first room, we are tasked to clean the radioactive materials to lower the temperature, but the later levels involve puzzles to tax the old brain cells. Quadralien uses a passcode system to unlock the harder levels, which is a neat idea.

My first game was a mind-blowing affair because there's so much clutter on-screen, which bewilders me!! My advice is to take it slow and experiment with your droid: familiarise yourself with the room, find water, play with magnetised objects, zap/collect toxic waste, and use the console. Actually, these are excellent and stuffed full of detailed stats, full toxic decontamination, and can recharge your battery to full power.

There is a lot to this game!! Great value for money, but also a free time-eater. Screenshot time...

The console is your friend who can help out in several different ways...

...like a good scrub! Or decontamination, as they call it.

By Jove, I think he's got it!

After a couple of games, things began to fall into place, and I was enjoying myself. Getting around is easy using the joystick, and it's a lot of fun zapping the nasty stuff with a laser. The spacebar is used to collect toxic waste, and hitting F4 activates a nifty Geiger counter on all lucky droids. F5 flips between your two chosen droids, and F3 allows you to pan your location without moving, which is more useful than you might assume.

Some rather odd magnetic mechanics can be useful, annoying, or humorous. That depends on your choice of droid, so explore and learn your environment before blindly running off. However, there are other objects to be wary of, like magnetic tracks, force fields, and those impetuous Quadraliens!

Hey, you're starting to show an interest? Rightly so, this game is something else...

It's good to know your environment, and Quadralien is bursting with much to learn.

This ain't no 5-minute game. Study hard. Play clever!

Aesthetics

Graphically, for a puzzler, it's amazing! I liked the crisp, clean design using bold colours. It's futuristic in some ways and reminded me how I thought a 16-bit game would look - back when I was a ZX Spectrum guy. Okay, I'd have liked scrolling, but the flick-screen works perfectly (I'm thankful push-scrolling wasn't used).

The sound effects are good, but the funky Dave Whittaker music wins hands down. Listen...

Yes, please do pause this most excellent reading. Listen, enjoy, and then continue to scroll :-)

CryptO'pinion?

We are now at that point where I write why I loved or hated a game. However, I'm doing something different because of Quadralien's enormous learning curve, which I initially failed to master many moons ago. Sometimes we're quick to judge, and I fell into that trap because of Quadralien's massive learning curve.

Anyhow, I recently took a week off work with my family to eat, drink, and walk the fells of northern England. I returned fresh, raring to go, and booted up my ST to give this puzzler another go. And, you know what? I enjoyed it for the first time in over 30 years, and my older brain coped better, too. lol

Quadralien offers the usual end-of-world scenario, but feels different and has fascinating mechanics. Sure, there's a learning curve, but I suggest trying your best to master that; otherwise, you might do what I almost did when initially writing this review! I am glad I waited until after my obviously much-needed holiday!

Do not miss out on what is truly a classic Atari ST game!! Dismiss this corker at your peril.

• AtariMania has the authentic floppy download.
• 8BitChip has a great hard disk version to save on the slow floppy access.